Posted on May, 21 2026
- The 10-year plan (2026–2035) identifies priority landscapes and key actions to guide recovery efforts.
- Implementation will be led by the Department of Forestry in partnership with conservation organizations in Laos, including WWF.
- Effective implementation of the plan offers renewed hope for future tiger recovery in Laos, where the last confirmed wild tiger was recorded in 2013.
Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR – 22 May 2026: New hope for tiger recovery in Laos is emerging as the Government of Lao PDR approves the 10-year National Tiger Recovery Action Plan (NTRAP) 2026–2035. More than a decade after the country’s last confirmed wild tiger record, the new plan provides a national roadmap to help create the conditions for future tiger recovery.
Signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment in March 2026, the Action Plan will be implemented under the leadership of the Department of Forestry and provides a long-term framework to guide coordinated action across priority tiger landscapes in Laos.
From Protection to Recovery
The NTRAP notes that no verified wild tiger records have been documented in Lao PDR since 2013, when the country’s last confirmed record was reported from Nam Et-Phou Louey. In response, the revised plan marks a clear shift – from trying to protect a remaining population to restoring the habitat, prey, protection systems and cooperation needed to support future natural return. It prioritizes landscape restoration, prey recovery, and stronger transboundary collaboration, particularly with Thailand.
Why the Action Plan Matters
The NTRAP matters not only because it sets a national direction for tiger recovery, but also because it was developed through a broad and carefully structured process. The plan was shaped through consultation, technical review, and validation involving government agencies, provincial authorities, protected area management divisions, academic institutions and conservation organizations.
The approval of the NTRAP comes at a critical time, bringing together national ownership, technical guidance and a practical framework for long-term implementation. WWF-Laos provided key technical and financial support throughout this process.
The revised NTRAP also builds on lessons from the first National Tiger Action Plan. While Lao PDR has made progress over the past decade in legal reform, protected area management, SMART patrolling, and community-based conservation, significant challenges remain. Poaching and snaring continue to threaten wildlife, prey populations have declined, habitat fragmentation has increased in some landscapes, and enforcement both within and beyond protected areas continues to face capacity and implementation gaps. The new plan responds to these lessons with a stronger recovery focus, clearer priorities, and greater emphasis on implementation, financing, coordination, and long-term technical support.
“Aligned with the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, the NTRAP reflects Lao PDR’s renewed commitment as a tiger range country to restoring connected and ecologically functional tiger landscapes,” said Associate Professor Dr. Somvang Phimmavong, Director General of the Department of Forestry. “Through this Action Plan, the Government of Lao PDR is setting a national direction for tiger recovery and strengthening the basis for coordinated action across priority landscapes.”
Priority Landscapes and What Success Will Require
The NTRAP identifies Nam Poui National Protected Area as Lao PDR’s ‘Priority 1’ landscape and the main focus for supporting the potential natural return of tigers from neighbouring source populations, particularly from Thailand. With its strategic location, habitat connectivity, and long-term potential for tiger dispersal, Nam Poui is identified as the country’s most feasible landscape for supporting the future natural return of wild tigers.
Priority 2 landscapes – including Nam Et-Phou Louey, Nakai-Nam Theun, and Xe Pian – remain important to Lao PDR’s longer-term tiger recovery strategy. These landscapes will require continued restoration, including prey recovery, stronger protection, and improved ecological connectivity, before they can again support tigers.
To support implementation, the NTRAP focuses on the key conditions needed for tiger recovery: secure habitats, restored prey populations, stronger law enforcement, effective monitoring, community support, sustainable financing, and improved coordination with neighbouring countries.
It also recognizes the challenges ahead, including limited patrol coverage, illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking, the need to further strengthen transboundary coordination, and severe prey depletion. Long-term financing, technical partnerships, stronger wildlife crime prosecution, and improved institutional capacity will be essential to turn the plan into action.
WWF-Laos: Supporting Tiger Recovery in Laos
Under WWF-Laos’ new five-year Strategic Plan, tigers are identified as a priority species. In alignment with the government-led NTRAP, WWF-Laos is committed to supporting implementation of the Action Plan, drawing on technical expertise from across the wider WWF network, including WWF’s Tigers Alive Initiative. This support will focus on the identified priority landscapes.
“The return of wild tigers to Laos would signal that many other conservation conditions are being restored. As apex predators, tigers play an important role in maintaining ecological balance and reflecting the health of the wider landscapes they depend on,” said Dr. Akchousanh Rasphone, Conservation Director of WWF-Laos. “They will only return when there is enough space to roam, sufficient prey to hunt, and healthy ecosystems to support them.”
The successful implementation of the NTRAP will require sustained collaboration among government agencies, provincial and district authorities, protected area management units, communities, conservation organizations, research institutions and development partners.
Coordinated action and long-term commitment will be essential to restoring tiger landscapes and biodiversity in Laos, while also strengthening forest governance and regional cooperation.
“Creating the conditions needed for tiger recovery in Laos will require strong government leadership, technical collaboration, sustainable financing, and sustained conservation action on the ground. WWF-Laos is committed to supporting this important national effort,” Rasphone added.
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For media inquiries, contact: bounpone.sookmexay@wwf.org.la
Communications and Advocacy Manager, WWF-Laos
Find out more about our work in Laos: www.wwf.org.la
Click here to view the NTRAP webpage and factsheet
